The Way Things Turn Out
by sashsweetie
Summary: The way things turn out never seems to fit with the images you create for them...
1. Chapter 1

"_Another _ball!" Ron Weasley ran his hand through his now auburn hair. "Wasn't the first one bad enough?"

" I think the idea behind having another was that most people very much enjoyed the first one, Ron." Hermione responded amusedly, without looking up from her papers.

"Are you joking?" Ron's eyes widened. "First I had to find a date, and then she ended up hating me."

"Just because you were rude to Padma doesn't mean other people didn't have a good time with their dates Ron."

"Shut it, 'Mione. She was just too high maintenance, that's all. I couldn't pay attention to her _all _the time, could I?"

Hermione sighed and put down her quill. "Whatever puts your mind at ease Ron. I have to find Malfoy and convince him to agree to this."

"Are you and our head boy getting along then?"

"Yes, I suppose we are. We have to, or nothing would get done."

"Who would have thought…" Ron pondered aloud.

" Yes…Well, things change." Hermione gathered her things together and stood up. "I'll see you later, alright?"

"Sure. Harry and I can plot our plan of action on how to survive the ball, eh mate?" Ron turned to his friend at the other end of the couch.

"Your time would be better spent on the potions assignment." Hermione chastised as she made her way towards the portrait hole. "Bye!"

"Bye" Ron echoed, before elbowing Harry in the ribs. "Oy! Wake up!"

Harry turned towards him dazedly. "Sorry, I missed that."

"You were obviously too busy staring off into space to pay attention to me." Ron shook his head in mock sadness before his face broke into a grin and he lowered his voice to a loud whisper. "So. Here's my thinking. We have two weeks until Hallowe'en. That gives us about three days until all non-ugly girls are gone. I think we should draw up a list of the girls who might actually say yes. What's your opinion?"

"Er…actually…" Harry paused, embarrassed. "I already have someone in mind."

Ron looked surprised. "Really? Who?"

"Erm…I actually wanted to ask you…." Harry's cheeks started turning slightly pink. "Um…Would…Would-you-mind-if-I-asked-Ginny." He asked very quickly.

Nervousness settled into the pit of Harry's stomach as he watched Ron's face turn first pink, then red, and finally…purple. "Ginny!" his best friend exploded.

Harry tried to look nonchalant as every face in the common room turned their way.

"What?" Ginny asked from her position by the fireplace.

"Oh…" The redness faded from Ron's face as fast as it had come. "Nothing…" he finished lamely.

She raised an eyebrow at him and, shaking her head, returned to her book.

"I guess that's a "no", then." Harry looked at his hands to avoid looking his friend in the eye.

Ron grinned. "Of course you can, mate. You just surprised me is all."

Harry smiled lopsidedly at him. "Thanks."

"So what am I going to do now you have a date?" Ron grumbled good-naturedly.

"Well, she still has to say yes, you know." Harry reminded him.

"Obviously she'll say yes." Ron rolled his eyes. "So what about me?"

Harry thought for a minute. "Why not ask Luna?" He asked. Ron turned pink.

"She might say no." he mumbled.

"But she likes you too!" Harry argued. He knew Ron had found out that Hermione didn't like him the hard way, but Luna obviously felt the same way about him as he did about her. "Go on, ask her!"

Ron sighed. "Alright, I will."

_Finally._ Harry thought to himself. To Ron, on the other hand, he said "Good for you."


	2. Chapter 2

After leaving the common room, Hermione pulled a smooth white disk from her pocket and peered at it in the dim light. On one side it held the work "library".

"Perfect." She murmured to herself, slipping the disk back into her pocket and making her way briskly towards the library. She was still proud of that little piece of magic. It was a nice little search charm, which helped Malfoy and herself keep tabs on each other so they could keep in contact over head student issues.

Upon reaching the library, she picked up the disk again and wandered around the library. As she reached the back, the disk started to get hot, signaling she was close. "Malfoy?" she whispered loudly, hoping for a reply.

There was none, but after a couple of minutes, she found him at a table, asleep on top of his books. She poked him gently. "Malfoy, time to wake up…"

Groaning, he opened an eye and looked up at her. "Hermione?" he asked sleepily. "What do you want?"

Hermione stared at him in surprise. It was the first time he had ever called her by her first name unless absolutely necessary.

In the meantime, Malfoy had woken up somewhat. "I hope you didn't wake me up for nothing." He yawned, stretching.

"I promised Professor McGonagall I'd have this to her tonight, so I need you to look over it, if you don't mind." Hermione informed him, her manner turning businesslike.

"OK" He took the offered paper and started to read. After a few minutes he looked up at her. "Sit down, this will take me a little while."

Hermione sat, staring off into space while Malfoy finished reading.

"It looks fine, Granger." He slid the paper across the table to her. "Thanks for waking me up."

"No problem, Malfoy." She got to her feet. "I'll see you later."

"OK"

And with that, Hermione headed up to McGonagall's office and then back to the Gryffindor common room.

Two hours later, Malfoy sat by the fire in the small, two bedroom apartment set aside for the Head Boy and Girl. Staring at his potions paper, he willed the next sentence to form itself in his mind, but it wouldn't. After a while, the door opened and Hermione came in carrying a large stack of books.

"Hi Malfoy." She greeted him, plonking the books down on the small table next to the entrance.

"Hi. Lots of work?" He gestured to the stack of books. Hermione shook her head.

"I finished it." Picking up a novel from the top of the pile, she made her way over to the other armchair and sat down, opened the book to the bookmark, and began to read.

Malfoy stared and his potions paper for a few minutes longer before setting it down with a sigh. He wasn't getting anything else done tonight. Looking over at Hermione, and how peaceful she looked, Malfoy realized suddenly how much she'd changed over the last couple of years. She'd gone from being a bossy know-it-all with buck teeth and fluffy hair, to being knowledgeable, self-assured, and, well, _pretty._

_Maybe it isn't just her who's changed._ He thought to himself gently, staring into the fire. His real personality had been allowed to surface a lot more since his father had been put in Azkaban 2 years before. He didn't have anyone to be afraid of now. With that thought, he smiled to himself.

"What are you thinking about?" Hermione asked, seeing him smile.

"How much better things are with my father gone."

"Oh." Hermione felt suddenly awkward. She had to admit she'd noticed the changes in Malfoy's manner since his father had been gone. He no longer spent time with Crabbe and Goyle, and, while he didn't go out of his way to be friendly, he certainly couldn't be called unpleasant any more. He spent all his time studying now, and had become her only rival for top marks in the year.

As the silence lengthened between them, Malfoy turned back to his essay and tried to concentrate. After a few minutes, he heard Hermione put down her book on the table. "Night, Malfoy."

"Night."


End file.
